Chapter 7
This bath is exactly what I didn’t know I needed. After remembering how miserable I was in Missoula, I’ve made a conscious effort to be grateful for my little flower shop in my sweet town, because I am thankful to be here. I’ve never been happier in my life, so it seems silly to complain about being successful while doing something I love. I enjoy the weddings and the hustle and bustle of the summer, working with brides on their visions. I only get one or two bridezillas a year, and that’s not so bad at all.
But man, it’s tough on the body. I’m on the go from before dawn until sundown, and I’m starting to feel it. But we only have a couple more months to go of the crazy season.
This hot bath, with the salts that Chase added, soothes my sore joints and muscles, and I lean back against the end of the giant claw-foot tub and close my eyes.
I could conceivably fall asleep in here.
“Music.” My eyes pop open, and I reach for my phone. I had set it on the floor next to me in case I needed it. After finding my favorite playlist and turning up the volume, I put it back on the floor before I resume lounging in what I’ve decided to call the deep end of this magnificent pool. Chase’s house is big, and from what I’ve seen of it, it’s pretty. Well kept.
And totally not Chase. I don’t know why I know that, I just do.
I’m lying here, totally zoned out, when all of a sudden, there’s a loud crash, and glass shatters everywhere.
My heart’s in my throat as I rear up and discover that a mirror fell off the wall and broke, scattering glass all over the place.
I’m just reaching down for my phone when the door bursts open, and Chase rushes in, then stops short, taking in the scene with frantic eyes.
“Holy shit.”
I squeak and plunge back into the water. “Keep Lily out of here.”
He turns and speaks to the dog. “No, girl, you stay in the hall. You stay.” Chase steps inside and closes the door behind him. “Are you okay?”
“I think so. Gave me a heart attack, but I’m okay. You’re barefoot, Chase. Don’t walk in here.”
With his face set in grim lines, he surveys the scene, and then his gaze finds mine. Those eyes flicker down to my nakedness that is not at all concealed by the water, and there’s not much I can do to cover myself.
“You’re staying in there,” he informs me, “while I clean this up. Give me just ten minutes.”
He doesn’t wait for an answer before he hurries out again, and I can hear him talking to Lily as he rushes down the hallway.
I’m not thrilled that this is how he saw me naked for the first time. Talk about not being the least bit romantic or sexy, but at least I’m clean. I smirk and shake my head. Is that the best I can come up with? I’m clean?
The door opens once more, and Chase returns with shoes on and a broom, dustpan, and vacuum in tow.
“I barricaded Lily in the mudroom with a cushion from the couch to lie on and a bowl of water,” he informs me. “She’s not thrilled about it, but I wanted to make sure that she doesn’t hurt her feet.”
“Thank you, that’s perfect. I’m sorry your mirror broke.”
“It’s not your fault,” he says with a frown as he gets to work sweeping the glass. “It looks like the landlord hung that thing in the drywall, not a stud. It was only a matter of time before it came down. I’m just sorry that it happened when you were in the tub. I guess my plan for making you relax just landed all over my floor.”
He glances my way again and then drops the broom.
“What? What’s wrong?” I cover my breasts with my arm, but he’s not looking down there. His eyebrows are drawn together in a frown as he gently takes my chin in his fingers and examines my face.
“You have a cut on your cheek,” he murmurs, looking closely. He grabs a tissue and dabs at it, pulling back with only a little blood. “It’s not bleeding anymore. Does it hurt?”
“I didn’t even know it was there.”
“I don’t want you sitting in glass-filled water. Stand up, sugar.”
“Uh, Chase? I’m not the most modest person on Earth, but I’m naked. I don’t think there’s much glass in here. I can wait.”
“Oh, trust me, I noticed that you’re naked.” He smiles tenderly and wipes his thumb over my cheek. “I won’t look if you don’t want me to.”
I bite my lip. It’s not that I don’t want him to look; it’s just…
“Summer, there is glass in that water, and I don’t want you sitting in it anymore,” he says, his voice still calm. “I’m going to carry you to my bedroom so you can dry off and pull on some clothes, and I’ll finish this up in here.”
It makes perfect sense. Trusting him, I nod and move to stand, but he catches my hand in his and helps me to my feet. Then he reaches for a towel and wraps me in it before simply looping his arms under me and lifting me easily against him.
“I’m getting you all wet,” I say with a laugh, and without even thinking about it, lean in to press my face to his neck.
“Don’t care.” His voice is a little rougher now, and when we’re back in his bedroom, he lowers me to my feet. Goose bumps break out on my body. “I’ll get you fresh clothes, too.”
“Chase.” He turns back to me, his face set in strained lines. He’s obviously making an effort to be a gentleman and keep his eyes up. Not that it matters now because I’m covered, and he’s already seen me. “Come here, please.”
His brow lifts, but he doesn’t argue. With his shirt and jeans wet, he returns to me and stands just two feet away.
I want him. I’ve wanted this man for what seems like forever, but especially over the past few weeks. He’s sexy and kind, and I feel safe with him, which is the biggest thing for me.
I can trust him.
“Summer,” he murmurs, his eyes dropping to my lips, “I need you to tell me what you want me to do right now because keeping my hands to myself is getting harder and harder, but if you tell me to leave the room, I will.”
He would. I know he would, and that’s why I absolutely do not want him to go.
Without a word, and with my eyes on his, I let the towel fall to the floor, and his eyes don’t move from mine as his jaw clenches and his hands fist at his sides.
“I’m not sending you mixed signals,” I inform him and raise my chin. “The bath was nice, and now I want…you.”
He steps to me and frames my face in his hands, those long fingers pushing into my hair.
“You’re sure?”
“Never been so damn sure.” My eyes lower to his lips. “Please, for the love of all that’s holy, tell me you’ll kiss me now.”
His lips tip up in a grin, and then they’re on mine, all soft and smooth and hot. It’s the heat that hits first, like a fist slamming into a wall. I tug his wet shirt out of his jeans, and he quickly pulls it over his head and tosses it aside.
And I need a minute to take him in.
“Muscles for days,” I mutter, making his hazel eyes warm. My fingers graze down his chest, over the ripples of his abs. “Okay, maybe I’m a little self-conscious now.”
He laughs and takes my mouth again, and my hands dive into his jeans. I want him as naked as I am. I want to feel him, all of him, pressed against me.
And he doesn’t disappoint.
When his shoes and jeans are finally shed, Chase nudges me back to the bed, and when my knees hit the side of the mattress, he guides me down and climbs over me. He’s leaving open-mouthed kisses down my neck while his hand skims down my chest to my breast and pauses there.
“Damn, you’re amazing.” God, I love his voice. It’s smooth as silk one minute, and the next, rough with need. “Every fucking inch of you is amazing.”
I sigh and let my hands take a journey of their own, exploring him. His cock is hard and heavy against my hip, and I admit, it’s a little intimidating.
But I don’t have time to think about whether or not I’ll accommodate him when that magical hand of his journeys farther south and covers my center, making me gasp.
“So hot,” he mutters. “So fucking wet for me.”
I moan, and my hips lift when he presses a finger inside of me, but I feel myself holding back, as though the thought of letting go with him means that I’m surrendering everything, and that scares me.
Chase, and what he makes me feel, scares me.
And yet, I’ve never wanted anything so badly in all of my life.
“Go over,” he growls and nips at my jaw.
“I can’t.” My breath is lodged in my lungs as I strain for control.
“Go the fuck over, Summer.”
My head moves from side to side, and I bite my lip. “I can’t.”
“You can.” His touch gentles, his fingers slow. “Eyes on me, babe.”
I shake my head again, and suddenly, his hand is gone from my core, and he’s tipped my face to him.
“Open your eyes.”
I do as he asks and feel myself melt at the look on his face. He’s not impatient or demanding. He’s smiling down at me.
“I’m right here,” he says softly and nips at my lips. “And we have all night for you to trust me enough to let go.”
“I don’t.” I take a breath and frown. “I don’t do that.”
His eyes narrow for just a heartbeat, and he tips his head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing, go ahead. Just do it.” Could I humiliate myself any more than this?
“Whoa.” Now he seems frustrated as he takes my chin in his hand again and frowns down at me. “Back up, Blondie. I’m not going to just do anything here. Don’t you shut down on me. You have a partner now, so let’s figure this out.”
And just like that, I’ve ruined this amazing moment. “I should have just faked it.”
He chuckles at that and brushes his nose over mine. “No way. No need to fake it. Let’s try this.”
He doesn’t run away. To my surprise, he’s all patient humor as he kisses me again, and I turn into him, as if he’s a magnetic force that I just can’t resist.
His hands resume roaming over my skin, but not to my center, not yet. His thumb brushes over my nipple, and his mouth moves down my neck, reigniting the heat that had cooled to embers.
“Your skin is like gold silk,” he mutters and kisses my collarbone. “So soft and warm. And when you blush like that, it makes me throb for you.”
Oh, I like his dirty mouth. I like that a lot.
“You make the sweetest noises,” he continues. “Tell me what you’re feeling, Summer.”
“Hot.”
He grins against my breast. “And?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.” His fingers drift up the inside of my thigh as his nose traces a circle around my navel. “Does this tickle?”
“No.” My legs scissor. I want him inside of me. “It feels…sexy.”
“Good girl. How does this feel?” He brushes the edge of my folds, and I inhale sharply. “Use your words.”
“Sweet. It’s like a sweet hurt that feels good.”
“Oh, I like that.” He presses a kiss there, and I bite my lip again, fighting for control. “What if I do this?”
He traces my clit with his finger, and I moan as he settles in and laps at me, feasting on me.
“Holy shit.”
“What does it feel like?”
“Like I’m going to…Oh, God, like I’m going to explode.”
“And you don’t want that?”
“No. Yes.” I grip onto the sheets, and he lifts my legs onto his shoulders. “Chase.”
“Look at me.” I thrash my head from side to side, and his voice firms. “Open your eyes, Summer.”
I do and look down to find his gaze on mine, hovering over me, and I know, down in my gut, that this is not how I want to come for the first time. “Not like that.”
He quirks a brow. “Okay. How?”
“Up here.” He moves over me and brushes my nose with his. “Like this.”
“Any way you want it, sugar.” He kisses me once more, and I can taste myself on him. My body calms, putting me right back into my comfort zone, but this time, it’s a comfort zone that’s on fire.
I hear Chase open a packet, and I lift my legs higher on his hips, ready for him.
“You need,” he kisses my chin, “to open,” my cheek, “your gorgeous eyes for me.”
He likes it when I look at him, and it makes me feel vulnerable.
Just like succumbing to an orgasm does. And that’s my hangup. I don’t want to be vulnerable with anyone.
“You’re overthinking again,” he murmurs and presses the tip of his cock against me. “I’m going to take this slow.”
“Just—”
“Say just do it, and I’ll spank your ass.” I blink at the words said so calmly yet so firmly as his hazel eyes are bright with lust and are pinned to my own. “We’re doing this, babe. You and me, together.”
I take a deep breath and hold his gaze as he presses into me, and when he’s seated fully, I grin at him.
“I didn’t know if you’d fit.”
“Jesus, saying shit like that makes it hard for me to go slow.” He rests his forehead on mine.
I laugh now, squeezing him, and he groans. He laces our fingers and presses my hand to the bed above my head as he starts to move, and all of the sensation from a moment ago comes back, pushing me higher and further than I’ve ever been before.
“I see you shutting down,” he says. “Don’t do that, Summer. We’ve come too far for that.”
I don’t want to. It’s an automatic reaction to intimacy.
“Ah, babe,” he moans. “So fucking good. You’re so fucking beautiful.”
His words, most of all, are what’s driving me up further. And then he releases my hand and cups my face, kissing me long and slow as his hips move. I grip onto him, feeling myself slide closer and closer to a place that I’ve never allowed myself to go to before.
“That’s it,” he croons to me as he keeps the rhythm slow, with long, deep strokes. “Ah, your pussy is a fucking vise around me. Jesus Christ, Summer, go over.”
“Yes.” The climax rips through me like claws, the heat, the absolute need pushing through me in waves. “Chase!”
He moans as he follows me, pushing against me with small, intense pulses. Every muscle in his impressive body is tight, and when he opens his eyes and pins me in that intense hazel gaze, I realize that this is what intimacy is.
Body, mind, and soul.
I press my hand to his cheek, and he turns to kiss my palm before he shifts onto his side and rolls me to face him. He brushes my hair behind my ear and kisses my nose.
He’s the most affectionate man I’ve ever been with.
He’s the most everything man I’ve ever been with.
“I’m hungry,” he decides and continues to brush my hair in his fingers. “We should eat. We worked up an appetite, and I need you to be fueled up so we can do it again.”
That surprises a laugh out of me, and he grins at me in return before kissing me sweetly and then with more heat.
He groans and pulls away. “If we don’t get out of this bed now, we won’t until morning.”
“I have to feed Lily and check on her.” I brush my fingertips down his arm, enjoying the way the muscles ripple under my touch. “And I’m hungry, too.”
“It’s settled, then.” He rolls out of the bed and pads down to the hall to the guest bathroom to clean himself up, and I wander into his closet to find a clean shirt. Just as I’m buttoning the denim shirt, Chase finds me and grins. “I like that.”
“I need underwear.”
His eyes heat now. “I’d be okay if you went without it.”
“No.” I can’t help but laugh. “That’s not comfortable. But if you pull a pair of women’s panties out of a drawer, I’ll punch you in the gut.”
“Violent after sex, huh? I’ll remember that. No, I don’t have any women’s underwear lying around from previous conquests, but I do have some boxers you can borrow.”
“That’ll do.”
He passes me a green pair, and as I climb into them, he throws on a pair himself, along with a T-shirt, and then glances over at me, and a slow smile spreads over his face. “Oh, yeah, that’ll do nicely.”
Has anyone ever made me feel as sexy as Chase does? As comfortable?
No.
Which honestly explains a lot.
“Should we finish cleaning up the bathroom?” I ask as he takes my hand to lead me out of the bedroom.
“Later,” he replies. “It’ll be there much later.”
“We didn’t even drain the tub.”
He shrugs and gestures for me to precede him down the stairs. I can already hear Lily’s nails tippy tapping on the tile as we walk into the kitchen, and I see her staring out at us from behind her gate.
“Hi, good girl,” I croon as I let her out. “I’m going to take her into the backyard. Is that okay?”
“Make yourself, and her, at home,” he assures me as he kisses me on the head. “I’ll start the pasta and bread.”
“Mm, pasta. It’s my love language.” I wink at him and then take Lily out the back door so she can sniff around and do her business. It takes her longer than usual because she has to check out every square inch of the yard, but I don’t mind. It’s a quiet summer night, and with the sun finally dipping into the horizon, the hottest part of the day is over, and there’s a light breeze in the air that feels nice.
Finally, when she’s finished, we walk back into the house, and I see that Chase is just taking the bread out of the oven.
“Good timing,” he says with a grin. “I hope you’re hungry because there’s a lot of food here.”
“So hungry,” I assure him. “I’ll feed Lily really quick, too, but she’ll still beg for scraps. Food is also her love language.”
With Lily’s food bowl full, I help Chase plate up our meal, and we take our plates, along with fresh glasses of red wine, into the dining room. He sits at the head of the table, and I sit to his right, curling a leg under me as I lower myself to the chair.
“This looks delicious,” I comment as I take a bite of bread and then moan in pleasure. “There are few things better than warm bread from the oven. Especially when garlic is involved.”
“I love watching you eat,” he says and just rests his chin in his hand. “It’s sexy as hell.”
“Eating?” I smirk at that. “That’s a new compliment I haven’t heard before.”
“Why do you think I feed you so much? Because it’s sexy.” He frowns and reaches up to graze his fingertip over where the glass scraped me. “I’m so sorry about that mirror, sugar.”
“It seemed to work out in the end.” I tilt my head, and that satisfied smile spreads over his lips once more.
“That it did. Speaking of that, are you going to tell me that you’d never had an orgasm before tonight?”
I choke on my pasta and reach for my wine, washing it down.
“I haven’t had enough wine for this conversation.”
“You don’t need alcohol to be honest with me.” He takes a bite of his food and watches me. “We’re past that.”
“Okay, fair enough. No, I hadn’t.”
“Why?” He takes another bite, and it’s as if we’re talking about what subjects we took in college.
“Because I didn’t, don’t, do well with intimacy,” I reply before taking a bite of my bread, pausing to chew and think it over. “Trust issues, I guess. I told you about Dennis. Turns out my instincts were right on that one. We had a lot of sex, and it was fine, but it was just that. Fine.”
He pauses with his hand halfway to his mouth. “Are you telling me that Dennis was your only partner before me?”
“I haven’t dated since then.” I shrug. “I don’t sleep around. So, yeah.”
“Okay.” He nods and continues to eat, not making a big deal about anything that we’re talking about, and I love that about this conversation. He makes me feel completely at ease.
“Are you so calm and collected about everything because you need to be for your job?” I slip Lily a noodle before I reach for another slice of bread.
“I’ve always been pretty mellow. Until it’s time not to be.”
“And when does that happen?”
“If things get heated at work, or when I have a gorgeous woman in my bed who won’t give in and come when she knows she wants to.”
That makes me squirm in my seat, and he grins.
“You were pretty calm about that.”
“Didn’t feel like it,” he replies. “I wanted to pound into you and make you let go. But that wasn’t the way to handle it.”
“No.” I shake my head slowly. “It wasn’t. Although, now, it doesn’t sound too bad.”
He laughs and tucks my hair behind my ear. “I plan to take you in every way there is, Blondie. Hard and fast and slow and soft, and every way in between. And trust me, you’ll come. You’ll come a lot.”
I swallow hard and stare down at my plate. “Well, then.”